Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 267 - 239: Self Help Society

Chapter 267: Chapter 239: Self Help Society

Anjiu City is an even larger and more complex place than Aizu City, and one must be cautious and meticulous when visiting.

Xu Yang mentioned the idea of scouting Anjiu City and getting the lay of the land, and he let slip some inside information to see if any of the Witches wanted to tag along for a trip. Du Qianqian was the most eager, not because she harbored any secret intentions, but simply because she wanted to go out with the boss and see if she could learn anything from him.

Lila actually wanted to go the most, but she had to work, managing the daily operations of Nestor Corporation. However, she was able to chat privately with Xu Yang remotely, leaving memories only the two of them shared in a dedicated communication channel.

Boarding the Innovation, this massive red battleship was already quite imposing just from its appearance. Xu Yang took Du Qianqian and set off from the airways of Aizu City, arriving in Anjiu City. They had implanted the chips previously given by Kanako, thereby becoming immune to the scans and blockades of Century Pure Land.

"The sky is like an oil painting," Du Qianqian said, staring out the window. "And there are so many tall buildings."

"It’s completely different from underground," Xu Yang said.

"Every time I saw those gigantic foundations piercing into the ground in Aizu City, I’d imagine just how tall the buildings above must be," Du Qianqian said. "Now that I see it, wow... they really are tall."

In Anjiu City, nearly 50 vast colossi are interconnected by suspended walkways, depriving the lower structures of sunlight and rain. Xu Yang had to fly the Innovation up to 600 meters high to get a slightly broader view and to overlook this vast, luxurious, and grand city.

Shuttling through such a large corporate city always made one feel incredibly small, like a passerby amidst countless steel cages. This was the feeling while navigating in the shuttle machine high above, and it would be even more profound if one were to measure these metal honeycombs with one’s own feet.

Prosperous and intense business activities were always occurring in these commercial buildings, with company people engrossed in their work like a ritual under corporate dominion, where every battery and every head of livestock had its daily schedule prescribed.

Xu Yang still remembered how people returned to their dormitories from their workstations each day, like batteries being put back into charging stations to replenish energy. The layout of the company dormitories was as orderly as charging port slots, and the space was just as narrow, barely big enough to fit the battery itself, squeezing out room for anything else.

"The Archipelago Continent is too small," Xu Yang said. "One island after another, there’s very little flat land available for development, so the style is a continuous stretch of skyscrapers."

"If living in tall buildings is comfortable," Du Qianqian said, "it gives you the joy of feeling like a cut above the rest."

"We should be able to get an office building in Anjiu City in the future. Capital is flowing out now, and many companies are selling off their assets cheaply," Xu Yang observed.

"Oh, I’d love to have my own floor too," Du Qianqian said eagerly.

"Don’t you like living with everyone else?"

"It’s not that," Du Qianqian said. "I just want a bigger bed, a walk-in closet, and a private gym. Living with the other Witches is fine; I used to be crammed together with them in the industrial park."

Away from the city center, there was a noticeable drop in the height of the buildings, and the flight height of the Innovation suddenly decreased.

From here, one could see vast areas of low-rise "single-household buildings," closely packed 2 to 3-story houses, contrasting unnaturally where the low-density bungalows met with the high-rise areas. Many houses had been demolished, leaving wide, continuous construction sites clearly intended for new colossi, but there was no sign of construction due to economic deterioration. Numerous construction workers and residents were troubled by this, demanding that developers take responsibility for their lost benefits.

"There’s quite a lot of ’unrest,’" Du Qianqian mused as she looked at the streets below, where a group of people had gathered with banners, confronting robots at the risk of having their credit scores depleted.

"Kirino Reisei is throwing a Colosseum tournament to celebrate her wedding, which shows she’s very confident in controlling the situation," Xu Yang walked up beside Du Qianqian, following her gaze to the people on the street. When a rank of huge "Inugami" class bipedal combat robots arrived, the crowd instantly dropped their placards and vanished without a trace.

Du Qianqian looked toward the outskirts of Anjiu City, which spread endlessly, far beyond what the eye could see, much vaster than Aizu City. In the distance, there were mountains and seas, all of which couldn’t be seen from the cramped underground.

"There are too many ’people,’" Du Qianqian released her magic power, her appearance constantly changing. It wasn’t just her face; everything from her height to her clothing and accessories was undergoing transformation—curvy-browed Caucasian women, dreadlocked Nii people, smooth-haired Taixi Continent-derived youths, aged women from Xia District, and sorrowful-looking boys wearing half-metal masks.

"Oh?" Xu Yang looked at Du Qianqian.

"Do you think this face is good-looking?" Du Qianqian maintained the last transformation, looking like a deeply troubled young boy with a crescent-shaped steel mask covering the upper half of his face.

"After you release your shape-shifting magic power, it also replicates the clothes and accessories of the other person, doesn’t it?" Xu Yang pondered.

"Of course."

"Then why didn’t you copy Kirino Reisei’s fox-faced mask when you transformed into her? Instead, you replicated her true face beneath the mask in an instant?"

"This..." Du Qianqian hesitated, "I’ll go back and try again."

Stationed just outside the northern city district, Sugar Town, where A40 was located, had already left the narrow confines of Anjiu City. The terrain around Sugar Town was rugged, with many small hills scattered about, separating it from the northern beaches.

Due to excessive deforestation and environmental degradation, the surrounding area was hilly but sparsely vegetated. Along the bare ridges, numerous shantytowns were built, following the contour of the mountains. Some manufacturing factories were nestled in the valleys, offering a distinctive suburban landscape.

Xu Yang had informed A40 ahead of time to safely park the Innovation atop an abandoned factory in Sugar Town, Chitome. He cautiously landed the shuttle machine, and A40 climbed up to the rooftop, waving excitedly at them.

"Hey! Boss!" it yelled, "Who’s that with you?"

Du Qianqian still wore the guise of a young boy, intending to spend a few days with this face to experience what it felt like to be a man.

"Pleased to meet you," the young man Du Qianqian shook hands with A40, "My last name is Du."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Du." A40 replied casually, thinking that this Mr. Du looked completely incapable of fighting, uninteresting.

"Any news from the Self Help Society?" Xu Yang followed A40, descending from the rooftop via an iron ladder.

"I’m not sure, I’m responsible for fighting." A40 said, "A bunch of mutant maniacs called the Solitary Bay Thugs roam the nearby mountains, come down at night to scare us, and rob those who are alone. I’ve been fighting them off lately. Because Seeking Shadow and I can offer protection, more and more people have been coming here, drawn by our reputation."

Everything about the Self Help Society caught Xu Yang by surprise. The factory workshop had been transformed into living quarters, from craft rooms and warehouses to parking lots. The place had been turned into a lively small community by the Self Helpers, powered by mismatched generators, including diesel, small solar panels, and wind turbines, donated by someone unknown to the community.

In terms of basic maintenance, the Self Helpers also did what they could. Those with medical knowledge joined the medical office, those skilled in mechanics helped maintain and repair electrical devices, and there were many stallholders. The aisle in the center of the two production workshops had been converted into a small market for the Self Helpers, with small light bulbs hanging on colorful wires, illuminating a myriad of goods. In the center of the market stood a burly prosthesis doctor, installing implants for those in need, with chairs and surgical lights set up in the aisle, and dismembered arms placed in ice buckets at their feet.

If it were just market transactions, it wouldn’t be surprising, but Xu Yang noticed that because people here had turned their backs on corporatism, they had developed a sense of rebellion. They decided to readopt a barter system, so all the goods had no set prices. When a Self Helper wanted to purchase goods from another, they could choose to trade something they had on them or "sell" their knowledge and skills. Xu Yang saw someone sing a song in exchange for a basket of nutrient paste.

"How did this place turn into an anti-corporatist haven?" Xu Yang moved through the metal shacks with A40, "Surely just Seeking Shadow and you alone couldn’t have achieved this."

"There’s a witch who’s been advocating her ideas, and gradually it’s become like this," A40 said, "and we’re on our way to meet her now."

"Where’s Seeking Shadow?" Xu Yang was curious.

"Still the same, hunting down the guilty," A40 whispered.

The large production equipment, old and lacking maintenance, had become the foundation for people to cover their own small homes. The rusting machines were like the backs of camels, supporting the cramped homes of the Self Helpers, carrying their ideals of family and community structure. This simple, primitive atmosphere also seemed to awaken people’s vitality, with men and women seen everywhere, hand in hand, engaged in the work of human reproduction, supporting the continuation of civilization.

At the lowest level of the Self Help Society, A40 lifted a door curtain made of plastic strips, and they were confronted with a corpse floating in an ice bath, the water tinged with blood.

A woman in rain boots and a lab coat was washing her hands, giving Xu Yang the impression of the kidney theft industry.

"Is she the society’s witch?" Xu Yang asked in a low voice, "What’s her magic power?"

"From what I’ve heard, she’s a ’Poison Master’," A40 said.